Bahraini youngster Ezra Idafar produced a tremendous performance on his competitive debut in the Chevrolet Supercars ME Championship at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi over the weekend, the 17-year-old securing a double podium finish in the SC06 ‘Development Class’.

On the same weekend as his older brother Menasheh took his maiden Formula Renault UK podium finish during round two of the 2009 Winter Championship in Britain, Ezra earned two pole position starts in his class in the Chevrolet Supercars before mounting two excellent comeback drives to claim a second place finish on Saturday, 31st October, and a third place result on Sunday, 1st November.

Racing as support to the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix, Ezra – the youngest driver in the Chevrolet Supercars this season – made a perfect start to the weekend on Friday, 30th October, during qualifying where he was utterly dominant at the wheel of his 6.0-litre Lumina.

Running strongly during the opening half-hour practice session earlier in the day, he stepped-up a gear in qualifying to post a best lap of 2m43.003 seconds – exactly two seconds quicker than his closest rival – while his second fastest time was more than good enough for the race two pole.

At the beginning of the opening encounter on Saturday, Ezra had a problem at the start to slip to the tail of the field but he mounted a stirring comeback to battle his way through into second place in class and 13th position overall to grab a podium finish on his category debut along with the fastest lap.

In race two on Sunday, the Gulf Computer Services supported driver was caught up in an incident with the car ahead as they battled for position causing him to slip to the back of the order again. Once more a determined and spirited drive resulted in a class podium with third position, 12th overall, and he also posted the fastest lap in class for the second time in as many races.

“I’ve had a lot of fun this weekend, it’s been great being part of a Formula One event and to get two class podiums on my debut in the Chevrolet Supercars is fantastic”, said Ezra, “Qualifying went far better than I could have expected and although the races were tough, I really enjoyed them.”

There is now a break of almost six weeks in the Chevrolet Supercars ME Championship calendar with round two of the season taking place at Ezra’s home track, the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, on Thursday, 10th December, and Friday, 11th December.

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